FBI: Church gunman shouldn’t have been able to get gun – WRAL

WASHINGTON — The gunman charged in the Charleston, South Carolina, church massacre should not have been allowed to purchase the weapon used in the attack, FBI Director James Comey said Friday as he outlined a series of “heartbreaking” missed opportunities and background check flaws that allowed the transaction to take place.

“We are all sick that this has happened,” Comey told reporters at an unusual, hastily scheduled meeting at FBI headquarters. “We wish we could turn back time, because from this vantage point, everything seems obvious. But we cannot.” (Source: Read more)

Taking Down The Confederate Flag Won’t ‘Solve’ Racism – HuffPost

The people of Charleston rejoiced after South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley called for the removal of the Confederate flag at the state capitol, and rightly so.

A state official acknowledging the inherent racism of the flag feels like the first step towards healing in the wake of the Charleston massacre. Yet it’s important to remember that this gesture, while significant, does not fix the underlying issue: deep-seated, institutional hatred and inequality.

It is vital to acknowledge that symbols do mean something. They have a real and profound effect on the world, and can galvanize and strengthen dangerous ideologies. Just as the n-word isn’t simply a word, the Confederate flag isn’t just a flag. Both are potent symbols of America’s racist past and present, and the desire to have them removed from our collective national experience is reasonable. It’s no wonder that right now, there are several petitions to remove tributes to the confederacy across the country. (Source: Read more)

Honor of Charleston Shooting Victims, Unity Chain Overflows the Ravenel Bridge – Revolution News

Over ten thousand people spanned the Ravenel Bridge Sunday night as part of the Bridge to Peace event honoring the nine people who were killed during a Bible study at the Emanuel AME Church Wednesday. (Source: Read more)

White Activists March On Charleston Confederate Museum, Chant ‘Black Lives Matter’ – Addicting Info

In the wake of the horrific tragedy of the killing of nine black churchgoers at the historical Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC, an amazing amount of strength is being shown. Mother Emanuel, as the church is known, held its first church service since the shooting this morning, despite the fact that they have not even buried their dead, and that they are still very much in mourning. As incredible as that is, perhaps the truly miraculous and unifying event happened Saturday night.

Hundreds of activists protested racism and domestic racial terrorism by marching on Charleston’s Confederate museum. Their chant was the now-iconic “Black Lives Matter.” Also, it is very much worth noting that most of the marchers were white. The following slogans on signs were from white marchers showing their unity with their black brothers and sisters: (Source: Read more)

See related: Protesters Vandalize Charleston Confederate Statue With ‘Black Lives Matter’

Obama on Charleston: Sympathy is ‘not good enough’- MSNBC

The Political Agitator’s response: Some folks are going to twist whatever the President says. They gonna say he shouldn’t said that, he should say this. Well shut the hell up and say what you want to say and let our President say whatever the hell he wants to say. Damn you can agree with him or disagree with him but he can very damn well speak for himself. He does a damn good job of telling his own story and don’t need you to add to or take away.

President Barack Obama made a forceful plea on Friday for Congress to enact “common-sense gun reforms,” in the wake of the shooting massacre at a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina this week.

“I refuse to act like this is the new normal,” the president told the U.S. Conference of Mayors in San Francisco. “Or to act like doing something to stop it is politicizing the problem.”

Obama had already argued for the necessity of new gun laws Thursday morning, but had said that he recognized “the politics in this town foreclose a lot of those avenues right now.” (Source: Read more)